What is an Investigator Meeting?
Investigator Meetings are planned to introduce each individual involved with a clinical trial to their roles and responsibilities in the trial, and to gain a better understanding on how the clinical trial will play out. An investigator meeting sets the stage for how successful or unsuccessful a clinical trial will be as it plays a vital role in maintaining communication and trust between the sponsor and the investigators and site staff.
Planning a successful investigator meeting is crucial for keeping everyone involved engaged, committed and productive. Whether you’re the sponsor or the CRO, below are tips that you can use to ensure your investigator meeting is well planned out — ensuring you get the most out of your time together.
Gather All The Details
Before you can even begin to plan an investigator meeting, all related information is needed. Below is a list of information you would need.
- Who needs to attend the investigator meeting?
- Where will this investigator meeting be conducted?
- What topics will need to be covered during the investigator meeting?
- How much do you plan on budgeting to successfully conduct this investigator meeting?
- What is the agenda for the investigator meeting?
By having this information beforehand, the planner will be able to piece together an organized plan that will help your investigator meeting run smoothly.
Engage with your Attendees Before they Arrive
While this may seem obvious, it’s important to begin building a relationship with your site attendees before the day of the meeting. This includes sending out an email to all attendees providing them with your planned date, or polling sites to decide on a suitable date.
Decide if you will provide attendees with ground service from the airport and if your own team will be included in that service, or if they will follow your company’s travel policy. Will the meeting planner provide air tickets for attendees only or sponsor and CRO attendees as well? Networking with investigator teams is important at these meetings. It is always a good idea to budget for a welcome reception the evening prior to the meeting day.
Provide your Attendees with Necessary Materials
Meeting materials are a great way to keep everyone on track. Identify all required meeting materials well beforehand (such as presentation print outs, correct website links, etc). Investigator meeting materials can be offered physically or through electronic devices such as laptops, phones or tablets. However you decide to provide your attendees with the necessary materials they need to follow along and take notes, make sure you decide what that information is with plenty of time to prepare.
If your investigator meeting is being held virtually, make sure all attendees have the information they need to access the meeting. Using a platform designed specifically for virtual investigator meetings, such as Scarritt Group’s Virtual Conference Center, can keep everyone in one space. This makes it easier for everyone involved to maintain the access needed for a successful investigator meeting as well as later follow up and on-demand review and training.
Make Sure You Have Plenty of Help
Planning an investigator meeting takes a lot of work. Contracting the services of a professional meeting planning company like Scarritt Group ensures that the event is managed with your needs in mind.
Plan to Engage your Attendees
A significant amount of information is shared during an investigator meeting. It’s important to leverage specific tools that get each attendee involved and engaged. Dedicated platforms and technology are a great way to make your investigator meeting more interactive. For tips on how to create an interactive investigator meeting presentation, check out our blog How To Create An Engaging Investigator Meeting Presentation.
By including these tips in the planning phase of your investigator meeting, you’ll be able to create a productive environment that will have attendees leaving inspired, clients optimistic and sponsors excited to be involved.
For more information about how Scarritt Group can help you provide a virtual solution for investigator meetings focused on high engagement rates, contact us online or give us a call at (520) 498-2900 and set up a free demo to see it for yourself.